Drug use within the Finnish club culture as marks of distinction.

Drug use in the context of dance clubs and "raves" has established a permanent position in Western youth cultures during the past two decades. Although the phenomenon is global, the prevalence and local cultural forms vary significantly among countries. In this article we analyze how the Finnish drug users in the context of club culture distinguish themselves from other night-life subcultures and from mainstream popular culture. We also try to categorize the distinctions of this group into more general discursive structures that define their group identity. Drug use in the club cultural context is analyzed as modern symbolically significant consumption as a way to create and maintain social categories and distinctions. We conclude that Finnish club culture is quite a hidden context. Club cultural distinctions differ greatly from values of Finnish society. Even though the club culture expanded and interlocked with mainstream popular culture in the late 1990s, club culture and related drug use are still quite a marginal phenomenon. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved) (from the journal abstract)